Ro
En
Рy
film and advertisement producer
I really want to know the name of the market where they found rats in the bran, but you serve me charades. Is this also to avoid hidden advertising? What is the sense of that? Why won’t you let me know what is the type of social bread that will be more expensive, what cell phone I should not buy, what petrol station or supermarket I should avoid today?
On the other side, what is the real purpose of those who could interpret this as hidden advertising, namely the Coordinating Council of Audiovisual (CCA)? Do they want to eliminate advertising from the content of a TV program? Do they mean advertising means money collected by the media institution and, therefore, it should be charged? Or the viewers should really know when they are crammed the “Chisinau” bread, “Molped” or the hypermarket “Pyateorocika” into their throats? Or what?
Supposing that TV channels fear to be charged, I believe there were such precedents. I dare suppose that the CCA (or someone else on their behalf) has their eyes on all the TV channels watching that the absurd provisions be observed. However, I found a range of procedures that simply do not mean anything in everyday life, written for the sake of writing and adopted for the sake of adopting.
To protect pluralism and political, social and cultural diversity, concentrating media properties is limited to rates that would ensure economic efficiency, and that prevent the generation of dominant positions meant to influence the public opinion.
Indeed? What is the threshold of the owned institutions that make up a dominant position? I know (just as anybody else, I guess) an individual that owns more media institutions (that don’t belong to him) than all the other institutions altogether.
Starting with January 1, 2010, at least 80% of the volume of programs of the broadcasters must be their own, local products, and European productions, 50% of which shall be broadcast in prime time hours.
Is it 2010 already or is it not? I’m afraid I missed it. I invite you, gentlemen, to turn on any TV channel and count the rate of “own productions”, as a drill, for the sake of counting.
Artistic and documentary films shall be dubbed or subtitled keeping the original soundtrack, and films for children shall be dubbed or interpreted simultaneously in the state official language.
This is the provision I like most. Is Russian the original language of everything we watch now? Our society has long talked about Selin’s “Patria” and the “economic agent’s right” to run his business in the language he wants. No one made so much fuss about TVs, probably because the interests are more obvious. We need original films for sure, but who has the courage to do that? Not to mention the provision requiring distribution agreements, which the CCA cannot verify/validate, as they are concluded with companies abroad, whose activity cannot be verified.
I was saying at the beginning that I have also read the Law on advertising. It contains provisions on the political, commercial, social advertising and all these provisions are directed (mostly) towards avoiding tax evasion and consumer protection (between lines). What I did not find and cannot understand is partially what I said above: why isn’t culture addressed as a strategic area? Why no one really cares about promoting our cultural product? Why material poverty (as a social field) is more difficult to bear than spiritual poverty? Why a road (or the Parliament) that has been destroyed is more important than a school or a cultural center? Why the hatred for the intelligence of our own people?
Last year, I was in Georgia talking to the representative of the bank sponsoring the Tbilisi festival. He explained me that it has been about three years since they make no more advertisement. Until recently, their laws also prohibited hidden advertising, but, for the sake of culture, the persuasion of certain lobbyists and of some sound decision-making factors, they implemented what I mentioned above. They fund exhibitions, festivals, art workshops, all sorts of events attended by lots of people. By getting TV exposure of their company, they win the heart of the audience. Advertisement and charity - two in one.
It’s easy to be logical; all we need is will.
____________
This article is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The content are the responsibility of author and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
